[HarryWho?]

There are some really bad crossings in the Vero area. A lot of the traffic lights and stop signs don't really make sense anymore.

[FL_Expert]

If people want to commit suicide they’re going to find a way. No sense in idiot proofing the tracks for the other bunch that just wants to go around the gate.

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by FL_Expert

If people want to commit suicide they’re going to find a way. No sense in idiot proofing the tracks for the other bunch that just wants to go around the gate.

Suicidal Americans are not "idiots." They are stuck in a country that doesn't do anything about mental health, that barely offers any health care at all, and the care that is available is unaffordable to many.

Brightline better get ready for more "idiots". The suicide rate in America is the highest it has been in 80 years.

Things in America are going just swimmingly!

https://www.axios.com/2023/11/29/sui...-high-2022-cdc

[Travelassie]

I'd say the number of railroad crossings in a dense populated area, across heavily traveled roadways might well contribute to the numbers of deaths in this way, but not sure how that can be avoided with the populations these railways are expected to serve. The only way I could think of to avoid people thinking they can beat the trains at the crossings, or perhaps in some cases preventing suicide by train ( at least at the railroad crossings) might be to put up impermeable fences, metal barriers that come down well before the train hits the crossing, and how practical is that, really?

I also think there is a sleight of hand in the statistics used to calculate the relative number of deaths per stated distance of coverage by each train line. FL's Brightline system covers a smaller number of miles than CA, so the miles in the denominator with the number of deaths in the numerator will yield a larger number.

[FL_Expert]

Originally Posted by sinatras

What a disgusting lack of empathy.

Suicidal Americans are not "idiots." They are stuck in a country that doesn't do anything about mental health, that barely offers any health care at all, and the care that is available is unaffordable to many.

The suicide rate in America is the highest it has been in 80 years.

Things in America are going just swimmingly!

https://www.axios.com/2023/11/29/sui...-high-2022-cdc

I never said the suicidal are idiots, you misread what I wrote.

[CXT2000]

Originally Posted by Arcenal813

Why do people try to go around the gates?

Most people there are dumb, aren't used to proper transit and are inpatient...

The real answer: high-speed rail at ground level is dumb and unsafe, people are dumb, impatient and are not used to proper transit coverage.

[beach43ofus]

They should have put it a few miles inland away from the current population centers. There were existing freight train right of ways along some of the routes.

[westender]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

They should have put it a few miles inland away from the current population centers. There were existing freight train right of ways along some of the routes.

The track that Brightline uses does in fact still host freight, largely at night.

The tracks about one mile west of Brightline are currently in use for passenger trains -- both the twice daily Amtrak services plus the commuter "Tri Rail" services, which runs at least hourly.

[kidyankee764]

It’s a high speed railroad that slices through one of the most congested metros in the nation, Miami/Fort Lauderdale, which is full of impatient, materialistic people who think it’s all about them. Hardly a surprise here.

[Lillie767]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

It’s a high speed railroad that slices through one of the most congested metros in the nation, Miami/Fort Lauderdale, which is full of impatient, materialistic people who think it’s all about them. Hardly a surprise here.

So thinning the herd is environmentally sound.